Fidelity National Financial Chair Bill Foley, who is behind the NHL expansion effort in Las Vegas, originally announced that should he be awarded a franchise, a "naming contest would be held for season-ticket holders," but if expansion comes this summer, he "wants to start cashing in immediately," according to Sean Leahy of YAHOO SPORTS. Foley said that "the timing on an official announcement coupled with the lack of potential website domain names would make him re-think the idea" of a ticket-holder vote. Foley: "I'm gonna have to kind of maybe not be quite so community open-minded and have this contest and probably come up with a name and talk to some people. Because, as I said, the domain names that we were interested in, they're gone." Foley added that even "with a few dropouts, the season-ticket deposit total is at 14,000 sold." While he has "yet to speak" with any GM candidates, ideally he would "like to hire one by July should he get a team." During the wait, Foley has also worked out a $17M deal to "build a 105,000-square foot practice facility featuring two NHL-size sheets" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/9).
STILL EVALUATING: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday appeared at the NYSE to ring the Closing Bell to promote the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and said of possible expansion, “We’re trying to determine -- ultimately it's a Board of Governors decision -- whether or not it makes sense to add another team or teams and, if so, where and that’s a process that’s ongoing.” Bettman said of the metrics used to determine if a market is awarded an expansion team, “With any sports franchise at the professional level, it starts with ownership, you look at the arena, you look at the market, you look at economic factors and you also look at whether or not it's something that’s going to strengthen the league and enhance the league and the league’s presence across North America. Those are all the criteria we're looking at" ("Closing Bell," CNBC, 4/8).
